Nigeria Is Going To Experience Recession – Finance Minister

The Minister of finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Zainab Ahmed, has warned that the coronavirus pandemic and falling oil prices are on the bid to pressurize the economy into negative growth.

Ms. Ahmed made the comments after the National Economic Summit meeting in Abuja on Thursday.

“On the economy, COVID-19 has resulted in the collapse in oil prices,” she said. “This will impact negatively, and the impact has already started showing on the federation’s revenues and on the foreign exchange earnings.

“Net oil and gas revenue and influx to the federation account in the first quarter of 2020 amounted to N940.91billion. This represented a shortfall of N125. 52billion or 31% of the prorated amount that is supposed to have been realized by the end of that first quarter.”

She added that the economic contraction will multiply the misery of the poor.

“The crisis will only multiply this misery,” she said. “The economic growth in Nigeria, that is the GDP, could in the worst case scenario, contract by as much as –8.94% in 2020. But in the best case, which is the case we are working on, it could be a contraction of –4.4%, if there is no fiscal stimulus. But with the fiscal stimulus plan that we are working on, this contraction can be mitigated and we might end up with a negative –0.59%.”

Help Reach Our 2020 Goal

Why your donation matters

Unlike many news organizations, our mission is to churn out in-depth and unbiased reports professionally and also to become an authority in news reportage where no one tells the story better than we do.